fitting plasma gauges write up

[sabreuk]

heres the write up to fitting the plasma gauges which i recently bought off eblag. first then whats in the kit.

all gauges
1x oil pressure
1x fuel
1x batt
1x temp
1x speedo gauge
1x rev counter

1x wiring loom
1x dimmer switch
1x instructions

kit needed:
1x phillips screw driver small electrical type
1x hairdryer
2x tea spoon
1x drill bit/ stanley knife

from there then you need to get the gauge cluster out of the dash. im sure there is write up of that already so ill just go through from having the gauges out.

first off what i did was lay everything out with the gauges in front of me then proceeded to take all the old led dash bulbs out then i took the front glass/plastic facia off the dials to do this there is several clips that hold it on to the rear of the gauge cluster i used the screwdriver to release them and gently spereated the cluster. heres the pics below upto this stage.

[sabreuk]

once you have the cluster apart you then need to drill or cut a hole in the top of the cluster as in the next pic where the yellow circle is, this is to allow the wires from the new gauges to feed through the back of cluster and allow you to close the cluster back up.

next what i did was fit the speedo and rev counter, firstly you need to carfully remove the needles to do this get your hairdryer and gently heat the needles you dont want to melt them just enough to allow the plastic to expand a lil. once there warm place both your spoons opposite each other and gently apply upward pressure until the needle comes off. once the needles are off there is 4 small phillips screw holding the old gauges to the clear plastic plate behind them, undo them and keep the screws in a safe place, then fit then new dials over the old ones just place them on top of the old ones. and replace the screws to hold them to your old gauges a tip once our happy with there positioning you can use a lil double sided tape to keep them in place but only if your 100% happy there not going to move again. then the new wires off both rev and speedo can be threaded through the hole you drilled/cut.

[sabreuk]

next what i did was to fit the oil pressure and temp side gauges to do this you place the new gauges UNDER the needle and make sure that they clip into the clip and hold secure, points to note dont worry if they dont bend to shape at this point as the glass facia will hold them in once you clip them back together. mine kinda held to shape but was fiddly. do the same with the other gauge and then feed the new wires around the top of the cluster and feed them under the rev counter and then through the hole you drilled. do exacltly the same for the fuel and batt side same process again bit fiddly getting the new gauges to stay where they are, feed the new wires around the top of the cluster and out the whole you drilled.

once your happy the gauges are straight and clipped in the clips and your sure your good to move on what i did next was then put the cluster back together and the side gauges instatnlty clipped into place as the should. just make sure when you do put the cluster back together the new wires are not trapped or your cluster wont go back together properly.

[sabreuk]

once your cluster is back together what i did the was attach the new loom from the kit to the dimmer switch and ballast box once your happy with that what i did then was to remove the clear plastic fascia so you could get to you needles. i then refitted the cluster back in the dash with the cover off. i then gently put the needles on not enough so they lock back on the pin but enough so they grip. i then turned engine on and set the speedo needle once i was happy the needle should be where it was i then pushed the needle back on. speedo needle can be done by hand and set to 0mph but you may wish to double check your needles before you put the front back on and rebuild your dash. once your happy with needle position clip the fascia back and rebuild your dash. the ballast box fits just nicely behind the cluster.

all you need to do then is route your dimmer switch to where you want to put it. the ballast box comes with a negative wire a positive wire, i routed mine to earth of the iso block under the steering wheel for the light switches and then i attached my positive to the sidelight wire off the same loom under the the steering wheel.

once your then happy that they work properly then you can then finish rebuilding your dash and then enjoy your new plasma dials. ill get some photos of the wiring now i have lux back and post them so you can see the wiring side that i did. hope this helps anyone that wants to do this install.

the kit does come complete with instructions aswell so you cant realy go wrong.

[w33lerd33ler]

nice one bud, very detailed, will be a great help

[Hawaii]

Mornin' all

nice mod & looks great - do they do a kit for the 3rd gen. tried the usual places but no luck

ta

hawaii

[Ambobeer]

Great post, really helpful.

Hears a question mind, you say you put the new speedo and rev counter over the old ones. Do you have to drill/ broddle a small hole in the speedo? There's a little spike for the needle to rest on on mine but it's not reflected on the plasma overlay.

[Albannach]

Great post, really helpful.

Hears a question mind, you say you put the new speedo and rev counter over the old ones. Do you have to drill/ broddle a small hole in the speedo? There's a little spike for the needle to rest on on mine but it's not reflected on the plasma overlay.

Superglue is your friend.

[Ambobeer]

Superglue is NOT my friend.

I chuffing hate going to casualty with half a broken ornament stuck to my hand.

A bit more of a look answered my own question, cannot drill/ broddle as the clever stuff is right behind where I want to be. Might just have to fresh air it now. Glue might well have done it but having got the front on amidst all the amazing dancing gauge overlays, it is definitely not coming off again.

Putting back in tonight.

[Ambobeer]

OK, so super glue is my friend and I avoided casualty.

One extra bit of info that may prove helpful to anyone doing this:-

I was quite daunted as to where to connect my +ve and -ve wires to that would make the whole thing work. Study of various wiring diagrams on the net didn't help and just scared me more. In the end I decided to work out which wires fed the dash lights and pick them up to feed the new dials.

As you sit in the driver's seat, the left hand multi plug connector that goes into the dial pod is where they're at. The extreme left is -ve and the next one in +ve. They're white and black (-ve) and green with a recurring white spot (+ve) as I recall. I joined on to these with scotchlocks and Bob's your Father's brother.

[Bingsta]

Thanks for this glad the instructions still here, helped a lot.

[scott-lee]

this has been a great help,inspiring me to fit new dials and led bulbs.
does anyone know what kind of bulb or light is used for the heater controls,and con it be upgraded to LED or something brighter?